What Happens Now?
by Marzos
Summary: The sequel to my story 'The Kiss That Didn't Work'. After spending most of their lives away from people, Elsa and Kristoff aren't sure how to be in a relationship. Meanwhile, Anna and Hans learn that getting married doesn't mean an automatic happily ever after. Hope you all enjoy, and check out the original story!
1. And Now What

Kristoff had almost decided to camp out in the courtyard to wait for Elsa to arrive, but he settled for coming as early as he could in the morning after the wedding.

He'd had this crazy vision the night before, after he kissed her, of them getting on top of Sven and riding off together into the sunset. Elsa was even the one to suggest they leave early. But she was talking after the emotional high of the kiss, and when she had realized what she said she knew it wasn't possible.

"I have to give a speech, Kristoff," Elsa told him, one hand rubbing the fabric on his arm apologetically. "And considering you punched a guest, I don't think it would be safe for you to come back inside…"

"When can I see you again?"

"Kristoff, we're not star-crossed lovers or something like that," Elsa answered. "You don't have to act like we need to be secretive…come back tomorrow morning. We'll meet here and talk about…well, about…"

"Us?" Kristoff answered gently.

Elsa smiled in gratitude. "Yes. I'll tell Anna and Hans about it tonight as well. Goodnight?"

Kristoff grinned. "Goodnight, Elsa." He leaned in and gave her another kiss before leaving. He still couldn't quite believe she let him.

He hadn't been able to sleep the entire night; he just kept replaying everything in his head. He couldn't believe he had just kissed her…the _queen of Arendelle_…and the most amazing thing was that she wanted him to.

So as soon as Elsa stepped into the courtyard to meet him, not having even bothered changing out of her sleepwear, Kristoff almost ran to her to kiss her again; but before his brain could translate the command to his body, something made him stop.

Elsa was smiling, but it didn't seem genuine. The most telling thing was her arms; she was hugging herself gently. To most people that would mean nothing, but Kristoff had known her long enough to pick up on what it meant. Elsa always did that when she was nervous.

"Hello, Kristoff," Elsa said, a little too cheery, creating a bench made out of ice with a wave of her hand, "Please, sit down. We have a lot to talk about, don't we?"

She was being way too formal. Fear started weighing down in the pit of Kristoff's stomach; what if she regretted it? What if she was preparing to tell him that she wanted to pretend their kiss had never happened?

"Elsa, are you alright?" Kristoff asked, taking a seat.

"Oh, of course, I mean...I have to admit I'm a little unsure." Elsa finally admitted, folding her hands in her lap as she sat down, leaving a good amount of space between the two of them.

Kristoff tried to speak, but Elsa kept talking over him.

"I just want to get this out of the way Kristoff," Elsa continued, "I like you Kristoff. A lot. You've made me happier than I have been in a very long time."

The fear in his stomach started to recede, and Kristoff let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in.

"I want to be with you. But Kristoff, well…I didn't really...tell Anna or Hans about us last night."

"That's it?" Kristoff said, chuckling a little. "If you want me to be there when you tell them, I don't care—"

"It's not that Kristoff," Elsa interrupted, shaking her head. "Well—my advisors were congratulating me on finally taking an interest in someone that is royalty, so I believe they'll actually leave me alone about marriage for a few weeks at least, maybe more. And you know how Anna is, she'll insist on me telling her everything, and make _such_ a big deal about it. I just…I don't want to deal with all of them."

Kristoff stiffened. "You're embarrassed," he answered simply, "Yeah, I understand completely."

"No!" Elsa impulsively grabbed Kristoff's arm, gripping it tightly. "Please, Kristoff, what I mean is that it's only been six months since I actually became part of the outside world—six months, out of twenty-one _years _of isolation. My sister has just gotten married, Arendelle is as prosperous as ever, and the people have welcomed my powers with open arms. And now, with that whole business with Leon, I'll finally stop being hounded every day by a horde of old men telling me I need a husband. Things are so _simple_ now, for once in my life, and I don't want to make them complicated again. Can you understand that?"

Kristoff didn't answer for a long time. Elsa forced herself to look into his eyes. He'd never felt so confused. On one hand, it didn't sit right with him, carrying on in secret—and he didn't want to imagine how his troll family would react when they knew he was keeping this secret from them.

But at the same time, it also didn't feel right saying no to her. She looked so unsure, so afraid, her large blue eyes staring intensely into his as she softly bit her lower lip. The thought of telling her he couldn't do that and seeing those eyes fill with tears was enough to almost make his heart break.

"I guess…" he ran a hand through his hair. "It wouldn't be that bad—you know, just keeping it between us for awhile. It'd be kind of nice, actually, not having to worry about what anyone else—"

He was stopped short by Elsa suddenly throwing her arms around him, kissing him over and over again on the cheek.

"Thank you—thank you—thank you!" she said, pausing to kiss him each time. Realizing what she was doing, the queen ended the embrace, much too quickly for Kristoff.

"Oh…" Elsa blushed deeply. "I'm sorry Kristoff, I don't know what came over me—that's another thing. You do realize I have no idea what I'm doing?"

"Elsa, I was raised by _trolls_," Kristoff pointed out, "Trust me, no pressure."

Elsa laughed, but then became stern again. "Nevertheless, don't expect me to do that often…it's not proper you know."

"No one knows we're together," Kristoff said teasingly, "So why does it matter if you're proper about it?"

No laughter from her this time, but she smiled genuinely. "_Ha ha _Kristoff. It's not as if I want us to keep us a secret forever. Just for a short while."

Kristoff agreed, lacing his fingers through hers.


	2. Elsa Forgets an Important Day

Luckily for Elsa, she and Kristoff had the castle almost entirely to themselves for a good while. Anna and Hans were on their honeymoon, which Hans had planned by himself, and it was to be an extremely long trip to several different kingdoms in several different regions of the world. As long as Elsa remembered what times the servants would clean different rooms, she and Kristoff would have complete privacy for a glorious two months. She was confident that after that she would be able to swallow her discomfort and tell Anna about them. At the very least, she was hoping she would.

This particular night they were in the sitting room—she felt quite comfortable there. It was a room that Elsa enjoyed as a child before she was confined to her room, usually to hide from Anna so that she could read in peace, and she liked that she now had someone else to share it with.

Not to mention, the one time Kristoff had suggested they could go into her room to avoid any servants walking in on them, Elsa had turned so red that Kristoff backtracked immediately and denied having meant _anything_ by that. This room was small and cozy, the next best thing Elsa could think of.

"I like your hair better down," Kristoff said, pulling Elsa closer to him on the one large chair they were both sitting in. Elsa stiffened when she was pulled in, but relaxed after a moment. She still wasn't used to letting people hold her without worrying about hurting them.

"Kristoff, stop," Elsa said, as he ran a hand through her hair. "It takes me hours to do that braid in the morning."

"Well, it's the evening anyway though, isn't it? Not like you're meeting anyone else…" Kristoff answered. Elsa sighed, reaching a hand into her platinum hair and undoing the braided headband.

"Fine then…but I can't wear it like this all the time. It makes me look unprofessional."

"Well, I like it. It reminds me of when I met you."

Elsa looked up at the ice harvester, her mouth forming a small 'o'. "You want to be reminded of that?"

"Of course! When I saw that castle, Elsa…" he shook his head, smiling. "I almost wanted to cry. It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen."

"I remember it too," Elsa answered. "I recall our first meeting being me in a blind panic, chasing you out of my castle with a giant snow monster."

"Well, it wasn't the best way to meet," Kristoff admitted, "But, you know, considering how everything ended up, I don't regret it at all—and you don't understand how amazing the ice castle really was," he added, unable to help himself. "I mean, the chandelier, the detailed floor—you know what I always say—"

"—Ice is your life," Elsa finished. She giggled—he was rather adorable when he was getting excited about ice. She buried her head into his shoulder, smiling softly.

"Still is," Kristoff continued, looking down at her, "But for a different reason."

Elsa rolled her eyes. "Kristoff, are you trying to be romantic?"

"Is it working?"

"Yes," Kristoff grinned as Elsa raised her head, gently pressing her lips to his—

"ELSA!"

"ANNA!" Elsa shouted, throwing Kristoff off the chair and not bothering to help him up when he hit the ground. She sighed in relief when she realized that she hadn't seen them; Elsa didn't see her in the doorway. Anna was shouting her name because she didn't know where her sister was.

"Elsa…? Oh, there you are!" Anna finally appeared in the doorway, her hair covered in icicles and soaking wet. Elsa realized it must have started snowing; sometimes she forgot that Mother Nature chose to make it snow without her help. "And hey, Kristoff! You trip?"

"Uh…yeah," Kristoff grunted, rubbing the spot on his head that hit the ground. "On, uh…the carpet. Guess I'm just a klutz."

"Never mind that," Elsa said, "What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be gone for months!"

"We were…until I realized what today was. I told Hans we just had to get back!"

"For what?"

"_What_?" Anna walked into the room, giving her sister a big, and rather wet, hug. "Did you really think I would have missed my own sister's birthday?"

Kristoff's mouth, Elsa noticed, was hanging open. Elsa stood in deep thought for a moment; what was today? January fifteenth…that _was_ her birthday, wasn't it?

"Oh, Anna," Elsa said softly, "Thank you so much. But you didn't have to cut your honeymoon short for me. I would have understood."

"It's fine! Two weeks was plenty of time anyway. We spent it in Corona—did you know the princess has a pet chameleon? I'd never seen one before! He was so cute!"

"You need to tell me all about it," Elsa answered, "But right now I think you need to get changed. You must be freezing and I don't want you to get sick."

"Aww, Elsa, you sound like mom." Anna giggled, giving her sister a peck on the cheek. "Fine, I'll change. But meet me in the dining hall so we can all celebrate—you too, Kristoff! What were you guys doing in here anyway…?"

Elsa's mind froze, but Kristoff answered immediately, "I was just asking her whether or not we should wait for you guys to get back before we had her birthday party," he looked at Elsa and smiled. "Looks like we won't have to decide now though."

Satisfied with the answer, Anna scampered out of the room, tripping over her waterlogged gown.

"That was close," Elsa breathed, "I'm sorry I pushed you off the chair Kristoff. Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Kristoff closed some of the distance between them. He put one hand on her shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me it was your birthday?"

"I forgot it was—I mean it!" she added, noticing the look of disbelief Kristoff was giving. "I never really thought of it as a big deal. Why throw a huge celebration when I couldn't even be around people to enjoy it? Mama and Papa always made sure to bring a cake into my room, but other than that…well, since they died I haven't had anyone to remind me of it the past few years."

"You mean for the past three years you haven't even celebrated your birthday?" he asked in horror. Elsa shrugged.

"I don't want to make too big a deal of it, anyway," Elsa said, "It was very nice spending time with you today, Kristoff. If I had remembered what today was I wouldn't have changed anything about it." Checking to make sure Anna was not coming back, she gave Kristoff a kiss. "I mean, you know how uncomfortable I am at parties. Can we just forget about it?"

"No problem," Kristoff answered, following her out of the room. Elsa couldn't help but think about how lucky she was to have him—he was so understanding, so accepting of things that she was sure most people would find ridiculous or weird, like not wanting to celebrate her birthday. Who else would be so accepting as to not even argue?

What she didn't know was what Kristoff was actually thinking in his head: _I'm giving Elsa the best birthday she's ever had._


	3. The Birthday Party

"Soooo, Anna…" Kristoff leaned in to whisper in his friend's ear as they sat around the table in the dining hall. "About this party…"

"What?" Anna asked, her mouth full of mashed potatoes. When she realized what he was saying she gulped the food down and grinned. "Oh, yes! Elsa's party!"

"Shhhhh!" Kristoff put a hand over her mouth. Luckily Elsa hadn't heard them; Elsa was in a deep conversation with Hans, who was discussing the benefits of a possible trading partnership with the kingdom they visited.

"It really is beautiful," Hans said, "They are very into fine art. The princess is a painter—she started a project, painting murals on all of the stone walls in the town square. It's more of a frivolity, importing artwork, but I think it would be worth sparing some goods; the paintings are incredible. And every year on the princess's birthday they release hundreds of lanterns into the sky…"

"We saw them before we came back," Anna piped in, "They were beautiful, weren't they Hans?"

He nodded, touching her arm and smiling before continuing the conversation with Elsa.

"Right—Elsa's party," Anna said, whispering again, "Why are we whispering? I thought you were talking to Elsa about it."

"I was," Kristoff answered, "And she said that she'd rather we didn't throw her one…"

"So naturally we need to throw her the biggest, most amazing party ever?" Anna asked, grinning. Kristoff nodded enthusiastically. He didn't love Anna, not anymore, but he still could appreciate that she was objectively awesome.

"So you'll help?"

"Of course I'll help. I haven't celebrated a birthday with Elsa since she turned eight." She leaned in closer to him. "Honestly, this is just as much a party for me as it is for her. Planning it is going to be so much fun!" she clapped her hands a little in excitement.

"Can we meet up tomorrow to work on it?"

"No, no, no, Kristoff—the streamers need to go _here_, and they were supposed to be _blue_. That's Elsa's favorite color, remember?"

"I'm sorry! Purple was the only color I could find!" Kristoff snapped. Anna, usually so easy-going, had taken to ordering around Kristoff and Hans all morning like a military officer. Kristoff could understand, it was her sister's party she was trying to plan, but he wished she'd lighten up a little.

"Well, if you don't care, let me do it!" Anna answered, trying to stand up on the stool herself. Hans almost seemed to materialize next to Anna, ready to grab her by the elbow. He was almost certain she'd end up falling off, as always.

"Anna, please. I can put up some streamers—"

"You couldn't even pick the right color!"

"Anna, did you think that maybe Kristoff's problem is that you're not giving him any room to do anything?" Hans asked, leading Anna off the stool gently so she wouldn't hurt herself.

Anna stared at him angrily for a moment, and then muttered something about making sure the cake was alright before storming off in a huff.

"I'm sorry Kristoff," Hans said, getting on the stool and fixing the streamers himself. "She wants to make sure everything is perfect for her sister, you understand that right?"

"Of course. She's not usually this snappish though…"

"Sometimes she can be…but it's very nice that you're doing this for Elsa. What did you say to get her to come?"

"Just that I had something I wanted to show her, but I'd be working all day so she needed to meet me in the evening." He neglected to tell Hans that the 'something' was actually them sneaking off together to go on a date. Right now Elsa probably thought they were going for a sleigh ride or something.

"Well, hopefully she'll—"

"Guys!" Anna squealed, "I think I hear her coming!"

Few seconds there was a commotion as people tried to hide under tables and behind chairs.

"Kristoff…?" the queen poked her head into the room. "Are you in here—"

"SURPRISE!" Elsa gasped, stumbling back and falling onto her back.

"Elsa!" Kristoff was the first to run ahead, taking a hand out. "Are you okay?"

Elsa got up, staring at the scene in shock. Party guests, mostly servants from the castle and friends of their deceased parents, were all silent waiting for her reaction.

"I told you I didn't want a party." Elsa said slowly. Tears began to well in her eyes.

"What? Elsa…" Kristoff awkwardly put an arm around her. "Please, Elsa, we all just thought…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…"

But Elsa buried her head in his chest. "Don't be d-dense," Elsa said, starting to sob.

"But—"

"Kristoff—I'm not c-crying because I'm upset. I'm crying because I'm happy. H-happy and a l-little overwhelmed."

"We hoped you'd like it Elsa!" Anna said, giving Elsa a hug that pulled her off the mountain man. "I'm sorry the streamers aren't blue though..."

"That's okay," Elsa said, rubbing her eyes. "Purple is my favorite color."

Anna's mouth hung open and Kristoff smiled victoriously. He _was_ right!

"Everything looks wonderful," Elsa said, looking at everyone. "Thank you all so much for coming! Knowing that you all care about me this much means more than anything I could imagine. Enjoy the party."

"I thought you didn't want a party," Kristoff whispered to her teasingly, leaning in so his lips grazed her cheek. Elsa suppressed a shiver and turned to face him.

"Well, of course I said that," Elsa told him. "I didn't want you all to go to the trouble, I suppose. You know, I still don't think I'm worth making such a big deal over…"

"Of course you are," Kristoff answered. "In fact, I don't think we made a big enough deal. I wanted to hire a string quartet, but I was afraid Anna would get suspicious if the idea came from me…"

"You wanted to hire a _string quartet_?" Elsa asked in shock.

Kristoff grinned. "Just kidding."

Elsa pursed her lips. "Very funny Kristoff," Elsa said, and then smiled. "By the way…what did you get me as my birthday present?"

Kristoff turned beet red. "P-present?"

"Surely you made sure to get me a present if you remembered to throw this party!" Elsa said incredulously, her hands resting on her hips.

"Uh…well…I didn't even know when your birthday was until yesterday…I'm sorry—"

Elsa put a hand on his arm. "Kristoff," she said, causing Kristoff to laugh out loud, "You're not the only one who can tease."


	4. Books

"Kristoff, it was really nice for you to take me out like this." Elsa said, walking with Kristoff down Arendelle's streets.

"It was no problem at all Elsa," Kristoff said, smiling. "I thought it would be a nice way to celebrate."

He was being purposely vague. After much convincing on his part, he finally managed to get Elsa to agree to going out during the day with him to celebrate that they had been together for a month.

"Kristoff, you understand if we do that, people will notice me. We can't act like a couple. No hand holding, or secret hand holding when you think no one's watching, or going off anywhere to be alone—people will figure out about us."

"I promise," Kristoff had answered, "I'll be careful."

"After all," Elsa continued, "I would rather Anna find out from us, and not from a peasant spreading a rumor that we have a secret love child." Her hand went up to her mouth when she realized what she had said. Kristoff was rather surprised himself—could a joke like that really come from Elsa's mouth?—but he only laughed.

Today Kristoff was keeping his promise; he walked next to her, not getting too close, arms held behind him. It was still a good day for him; they talked, and occasionally Elsa or Kristoff would point out a particular shop of interest and they would go inside—to the delight of the small business owner that was getting a visit from the queen.

"I mean, I suppose I don't mind corsets," Elsa said to him as they exited a clothing shop. "They make you look nice, but they're not particularly comfortable. One of the benefits of being isolated was that Mama and Papa never really cared if I wore one or not."

"You don't really need one anyway," Kristoff pointed out, "I can't imagine a corset could make you look any better than you already do."

"Thank you," Elsa said simply, but from the way she looked at him he could tell that if they had been alone her reaction would have been a lot bigger.

Suddenly Elsa stopped, her hand flying to her mouth. She pointed in the direction of a bookshop.

"Oh my God!" She suddenly broke into a run. Kristoff followed.

"What? What is it?"

Elsa put her hands on the glass window that held a display of books.

"Kristoff, don't you see? They have The Scarlet Letter in stock. I've been waiting for our shops to start carrying it."

"What?" Kristoff said again.

Elsa stared at the book. "It's a new novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It's supposed to be one of his best works."

"Oh," Kristoff shifted awkwardly in place. Elsa, seeming to forget that she was with him, rushed in to buy it; it was moments like these that brought Kristoff back to the painful reality of just how different the two of their lifestyles were. Kristoff could read as well as the next guy, but he couldn't remember the last time he sat down to read a book. Yet to Elsa books were an old friend that, even in her isolated years, had never abandoned her. It worried him sometimes, when she would try to talk about her favorite stories and realized Kristoff had no idea what she was saying, that she would decide that he was boring.

He banished the thought from his mind. Opposites attract, right?

After a few minutes, Elsa exited the shop. She already had her face buried in the pages.

"Good so far?" Kristoff asked politely.

"Yes," Elsa answered, not looking up from the pages. Their outing was cut short when Kristoff realized that she was invested in this book. He sighed and they went back to the castle.

Kristoff had to admit, it was impressive how she navigated around the townsfolk with ease without ever looking up. But come on; he was competing with a book for her attention and lost.

He opened the door to the castle for her. She walked in, skirting around Anna, who looked like she was about to say something to her.

"Oh…" Anna sighed. "She found a new book, didn't she?"

"Yes," Kristoff groaned, "She barely spoke to me all day."

"Don't worry about it Kristoff," Anna answered, "It doesn't mean anything. When me and Elsa were kids, she got a book of fairytales for her seventh birthday, before my accident. She didn't leave her room for _three whole days_."

"_Days_?"

"Yep. I remember, Mama and Papa tried to make her leave by refusing to send food up to her room—so she had me sneak food in the pockets of my play clothes. Papa found out when he realized my pockets smelled like spaghetti sauce." Anna giggled at the memory. "So yeah…Elsa can get really serious about her books." She walked quickly away. "Sorry, I'm looking for Hans. I'll see you Kristoff!"

Watching her walk, Kristoff puzzled over the problem himself.

Unlike when she was a child, Elsa realized the importance of getting a good night's sleep, no matter how good of a book she was reading. Rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes, the queen blindly reached a hand to her bedside table to grab the book which, through some dedicated reading, she was only a mere few chapters away from completing.

After a few moments she realized she was grasping at air.

"Where did it go?" Elsa muttered. She got out of bed, scanning the ground to see if it had somehow fallen. When she still didn't see it, she started to get suspicious.

"Anna?" Elsa called out, poking her head into the hallway "Do you have—_Kristoff?_"

"Wha…Elsa!" Kristoff sat up; he had been asleep in the middle of the hallway. The Scarlett Letter had been resting open on his chest, and it tumbled as he sat up and landed on the floor.

"Kristoff, what were you doing with my new book?" she picked it up gingerly, examining it for damage. "You really shouldn't leave it open like that, you could have damaged the spine…"

"I thought…" Kristoff blushed in embarrassment. "You know, that you would like it if I read more."

Elsa's gaze softened. "Oh Kristoff—by the way, you should get up—good. Oh Kristoff, you spent all night trying to read that novel because you knew I liked it?"

"Yeah." He said, smiling sheepishly and rubbing the back of his head.

"Kristoff, I'm sorry. I realize I must have seemed so frigid—no joke intended—going out with you to celebrate our relationship and then just ignoring you like that."

She looked down at the novel in her hands. "But you really stayed up all night and finished the entire thing?"

"I figured there must be a reason you liked it so much, right?"

Elsa's smiled broadened. She put a cold palm on Kristoff's cheek.

"Kristoff, that was incredibly sweet of you. I didn't even finished it in one night and you did it for me…what did you think of it?" Elsa asked.

"Uh…well…it was interesting…"

"Kristoff, it's okay." She began rubbing her thumb across his cheek in small circles. Kristoff put one large, square hand over hers. "I know what you must have thought, but I really don't care if you read a lot of books. I like that you're an outdoorsman—we balance each other out."

"Really?"

Elsa nodded. "Of course. You don't need books to have interesting things to talk about—with the stuff you've done it's like listening to someone read an adventure novel."

"Then thank God," Kristoff said, "Because half the time I had no idea what was going on."

Elsa giggled as Kristoff placed a kiss to her lips. Her arms found their way around Kristoff's neck.

The book fell out of her hands, clattering on the floor. This time the spine was damaged. But really, Elsa thought, who cares about books?


End file.
